A cable television distribution system generally collects commercial programming from large "off air" television antennas, a satellite receiving station, or locally originated signals and then distributes these signals to individual subscribers via coaxial cable or fiber optics. The collected signals are processed in the headend, then combined and routed to form a serving signal to the subscriber through fiber and/or trunk and feeder paths of the distribution system. The fiber and trunk system transport high quality headend signals to the feeder system, which in turn provides signals to the end user. This type of broadband distribution system can be a single or dual cable system and a forward only or two way system.
The signal travels along the feeder cable until it reaches the location of the first subscriber (or subscribers). At this point, it is necessary to tap off signal from the feeder cable so that it can be delivered to the subscriber(s) residence. The device used to tap signal off from the feeder cable is called a directional tap. A tap generally includes a housing unit having a base member and a cover or faceplate attached thereto. The faceplate includes the integral printed wiring or distribution circuitry for distributing the signal to each of the subscribers served by the tap. The number of individual subscribers to be fed from a single location determines the type of tap to be used. Common prior art taps include two-port, four-port and eight-port taps, where each port is connected to a drop cable that provides the cable signal to a subscriber. The signal level required at the tap port is dictated by the signal level input requirements of the subscriber, as determined by the number of television receiver devices, video recorders, and the like that are to be connected to the system and the distance between the tap and the subscriber.
For sub-division communities of single family residences, each tap off location from the feeder cable is connected to a two-port, four-port or eight-port tap and a drop cable from each port is in turn connected to the residence of each subscriber. For multiple dwelling units such as apartment buildings, however, each tap off location from the feeder cable is generally connected to three or more eight-port taps, which are connected in series by coaxial cable (three such taps serving as many as twenty-four subscribers). Due to frequency dependent transmission losses in coaxial cables, signal levels tend to diminish as the signal propagates away from the transmission source. Thus, connecting a plurality of taps by coaxial cables diminishes the signal quality received by the subscriber further downstream. If one of the taps for the multiple dwelling unit fails and must be replaced or serviced, the result is a disruption in the signal, and thus the cable service, for all remaining subscribers farther down the cable and away from the headend. In addition, cable handling becomes more complicated and burdensome for the service technician due to the physical interconnection of the plurality of taps.